WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Trailing by 20 points at one point and by nine with just 50 seconds remaining, the chances of extending William & Mary men's basketball's Colonial Athletic Association mark to a program-best 5-0 looked bleak. Cue one of the most memorable and furious rallies in school history, including 11 of regulation's final 13 points, and the Tribe pulled out an 89-82 overtime victory over in-state rival James Madison on Thursday night inside Kaplan Arena.
 
Sophomore Matt Milon, who finished with 18 points, knocked down a 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds remaining to push the game to extra time. He added the eventual go-ahead bucket in the final minute of overtime, and senior captain David Cohn scored eight of the Tribe's 14 overtime points, including the last six, to propel the Green and Gold (12-4) to the program's first 5-0 CAA start.
 
James Madison led 73-64 following a Stuckey Mosley free throw, and the Tribe turned the ball over on its ensuing possession, giving the Dukes possession with just 50 ticks remaining. Senior Connor Burchfield came up with the steal and scoring a fast-break lay-up to draw W&M within seven.
 
The Dukes against went just 1-of-2 at the free throw line, and Cohn quickly drove for a lay-up to cut the gap to six, 74-68, with 34.7 seconds remaining. Milon picked the pocket of JMU's Ramone Snowden and was fouled. His free throws seven second later narrowed the margin to four. JMU again came up empty at the free throw line missing two shot, and Pierce stuck back a Tribe miss to close within 74-72 with 15.7 seconds remaining. Mosley connected on 1-of-2 at the charity stripe, setting up Milon's equalizing 3-pointer that hit every part of the rim, before nestling home to send the game to overtime tied at 75.
 
Both teams traded mini runs to start overtime, and the Dukes led 82-81 with 1:15 remaining following a pair of Matt Lewis free throws. Buchfield made back-to-back huge plays to swing the game back in favor of the Tribe. He drove and found Milon for a cutting lay-up to give W&M the lead for good with 53 seconds remaining. On the ensuing JMU possession, Burchfield made a huge steal, saving the ball back inbounds. Cohn was fouled and went on to go a perfect 6-of-6 at the free throw line over the final 27 seconds to put the game away.
 
James Madison led by as much as 20 in the first half and finished the first 20 minutes shooting 66.7 percent (18-of-27) from the field, including 5-of-9 from 3-point range. Lewis, who scored 19 of his 22 points in the first half, sparked a 17-2 run as the visitors opened up the 20-point cushion. He scored nine points and book-ended 13-straight JMU points to start the run with 3-pointers, the first ending up as a four-point play. His free throws at the 5:47 mark gave the Dukes a 38-18 advantage.
 
W&M hit three of its first four shots out of the locker room to draw within 10, 47-37, on a Cohn 3-pointer just 2:15 into the second half. The Dukes built their lead back to 18, 60-42, with 12:15 remaining, before the Tribe limited JMU without a field goal for nearly eight and a half minutes. On the other side, the Tribe scored 10-straight points at the charity stripe and drew within 63-52 on a Paul Rowley free throw with 5:21 to play.
 
Individual Player Spotlight
Senior David Cohn and sophomore Nathan Knight led the Tribe with 21 points apiece. Knight was a perfect 12-of-12 from the charity stripe, while Cohn was 8-of-8. Sophomore Matt Milon finished with 18 points, and junior Paul Rowley added 13. Sophomore Justin Pierce pulled down a game and career-high tying 17 rebounds, including 16 in the second half and overtime.
 
Matt Lewis, the reigning CAA Rookie of the Week, led all scorers with 22 points, including 19 in the first half. Fellow rookie Darius Banks added 17 points and six rebounds for the Dukes.
 
Inside the Numbers
- The story of the game for W&M offensively was at the free throw line. The Tribe was 33-of-36 at the charity stripe, good for 91.7 percent. The Green and Gold connected on 21-of-24 in the second half and a perfect 10-of-10 in overtime. W&M scored 55.7 percent (34-of-61) of its points from the free throw line in the second half and OT.
 
- The Tribe held a decisive 51-29 advantage on the glass, including a 14-1 cushion on the offensive glass. W&M outscored the Dukes, 17-0, in second chance points.
 
- After allowing JMU to shoot 66.7 percent (18-of-27) in the first half and 5-of-9 from 3-point range (55.6 percent), the Green and Gold limited the visitors to 30.3 percent (10-of-33) from the floor and 18.8 percent (3-of-16) from 3-point range in the final 25 minutes.
 
Notes
W&M started 5-0 in CAA play for the first time in program history … It is the sixth time that the Tribe has started a conference slate 5-0 or better and the first since going 9-0 in the ECAC South in 1982-83 … Sophomore Nathan Knight produced just the seventh game in program history with perfect free throw shooting on 12 or more attempts … He is the first since teammate David Cohn did it against UNCW in 2016 … It is the most makes for a Tribe player without a miss in a game since Mit Winter was 17-of-17 vs. JMU in 2001 … The Tribe's 33 made free throw are the fourth most in school history and the most since making 34 against JMU in 2001 … Sophomore Justin Pierce pulled down a career-high tying 17 rebounds, which is the fourth-best total for a Tribe player since 1973 … He is one of only two players, along with David Cully in 1996, to have two games of 17 or more rebounds in the same season since 1973 … It marks the 11th time in the all-time series that the Tribe swept JMU in the season series and sixth time under head coach Tony Shaver, who is 23-13 all-time against the Dukes … Senior Connor Burchfield tallied a career-high three steals and two blocked shots … The Tribe posted its second five-game winning streak of the season … It was the Tribe's first OT game of the season and its second against JMU in as many seasons … W&M is 5-2 in overtime over the last five seasons … The Tribe overcame a double-digit deficit for the fourth time this season and third time in the last four games … W&M owns 26 double-digit comebacks under head coach Tony Shaver … The 20-point comeback on Thursday was the 12th comeback of 20 or more points in the NCAA this season and the largest for the Tribe since overcoming a 22-point deficit to knock off UNCW in 2015.

Up Next
The Tribe continues its homestand on Saturday afternoon against Towson. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m., from Kaplan Arena. The game will be broadcast online at Tribe Athletics TV via Stretch Internet. Tribe fans can catch the men's basketball action over the Tribe Radio Network with Jay Colley and Charlie Woollum on the call. The Tide 92.3 FM and 107.9 Bach FM are the flagship stations of the Tribe Radio Network and the audio is also available over the Web at TribeAthletics.com.